Corporate Assistant Review
at Forvis Mazars
School Leaver Programme
Accounting
Nottingham
Review Submitted: May 2023
Overall Rating
2.5 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
1.8/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
3/5
Auditing in the public sector, including interacting with my team and the clients on a regular basis. We complete testing, sampling and analytical reviews as some examples. I work on a range of different clients which changes regularly. I have regular (almost daily) Teams calls, both work related and non work related.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I enjoy my day to day job a lot of the time as it is social and I enjoy interacting with my colleagues and the client. I have made good friends at work and feel comfortable within the team. However I sometimes don't feel supported within the programme and feel like I have to navigate it independently
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have definitely learnt new skills as well as developing old existing skills. I have learnt how to communicate via teams and email in a professional environment. I have learnt how to test samples, analytically review, and other auditing related skills. I have also developed my existing Excel skills further.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
1/5
I have a structure to my exam pathway on my programme, however it is not designed to be the most effective pathway for me or the easiest. The early careers team also make it very difficult to change your pathway if needed and it isn't always clear on the training I need to complete and when
How much support do you receive from your employer?
1/5
I receive decent support from my colleagues regarding exams and my day to day job. However sometimes the managers make it difficult to balance exams when work is busy. Early careers also don't support us at all and create problems that we need to solve on top of getting through the programme alone.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
1/5
We receive very very little support from BPP. Our questions via email are usually ignored or the answers are not helpful. They regularly cause problems and issues that I spend hours resolving in my own time. The courses aren't well run or structured and I requested to just teach myself as it is a better use of my time. Could have got through the exams without them completely.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
Currently it doesn't help a great deal. As a school leaver I am just finishing AAT and working in public sector audit it mostly isn't relevant or helps my day to day tasks. It helps my general accounting knowledge improve and sometimes helps me understanding the working behind my job better but not to a massive extent.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
Yes I get involved in lots of extra curricular activities at work. I am on the social community, the NCASS committee (accounting student society for Nottingham), the netball team and much more. I have been involved in many focus and feedback groups and have also been to multiple professional networking events.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Forvis Mazars to a friend?
Yes
Why?
The team and staff are great and want you and the firm to do well. Compared to other firms they are more relaxed and wanting to help. If the exam side of it wasn't an issue I'd enjoy working for them a lot. I also like their policies and principals.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Forvis Mazars?
Be yourself during the interviews, they love getting to know you and hiring people based on who they are and not just their qualifications. Be prepared to get involved outside work in committees or lots and lots of socials throughout the year. The team can be very fun and lots of work day outs are organised in public sector too
